• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
What happened to the six players Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to become world's best back in 2017

Home> Football> Football News

Published 13:55 3 Jul 2024 GMT+1

What happened to the six players Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to become world's best back in 2017

Ronaldo made some big predictions back in 2017.

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton

Cristiano Ronaldo once predicted who would succeed him as the best player in the world, but not all of his picks worked out too well.

There's certainly a debate to be had about who is the best footballer on the planet, but in 2017 there was only one answer.

In 2016-17 Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to complete a La Liga and Champions League double.

Advert

In 2017 the Portuguese star scored 53 goals in all competitions, and completed a clean sweep with the Ballon d'Or, FIFA's The Best award and the UEFA Player of the Year award.

After winning the latter in August 2017, Ronaldo was asked which players he thought might one day surpass him as the world's best player.

He answered: "In the next generation there are at least 10 players with very, very great potential."

Advert

So, almost seven years later, how did those players get on?

Marco Asensio

In hindsight, it was a little generous of Ronaldo to include Asensio in that top bracket, but at the time his then-21-year-old Madrid teammate looked like the real deal.

The Spanish winger became the fourth youngest player to score in a Champions League final when he netted against Juventus in 2017, but since then he has failed to properly establish himself as a top talent.

Advert

After his contract expired in June, Asensio joined Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. He was a surprise omission from Spain's Euro 2024 squad.

Kylian Mbappe

That's more like it. As Ronaldo predicted, Mbappe has been one of the best players on the planet pretty much since he burst onto the scene as a teenager at Monaco in 2016/17.

In the summer of 2017 he moved to Paris Saint-Germain and hasn't stopped scoring since.

Advert

Kylian Mbappe is one of the best players in the world (Image: Getty)
Kylian Mbappe is one of the best players in the world (Image: Getty)

He's even done it on the international stage, too. Not content with firing France to World Cup glory in 2018 as a 19-year-old, he came within a whisker of repeating the trick in 2022.

Once Euro 2024 has concluded, Mbappe will turn his attention to his first season at Real Madrid, following his departure from PSG.

Neymar

Ronaldo highlighted Brazilian star Neymar, but it's hard to argue that the Brazilian has reached the same heights.

Advert

The tricky attacker was the original heir to the Ronaldo - and Lionel Messi - throne, but in the last few years has appeared to lose his way a bit.

Controversy has followed Neymar around like a bad smell, and now 31, he currently plays in the Saudi Pro League for Al Hilal.

He missed Brazil's 2024 Copa America campaign after suffering an ACL injury last autumn.

Ousmane Dembele

Dembele was tearing up trees at Borussia Dortmund in 2017, so much so that Barcelona signed him for £135 million.

The French winger has not consistently hit the heights since though, with injuries haunting him since he moved to Spain.

He's enjoyed a mini-revival of late and like Asensio, he currently plays for Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain.

Unfortunately, the 27-year-old has made little impact for France at Euro 2024.

Eden Hazard

Hazard was arguably the best player in the world in 2018, destroying Premier League defences with Chelsea and leading Belgium to the World Cup semi-finals.

Eden Hazard failed to live up to expectations at Real Madrid (Image: Getty)
Eden Hazard failed to live up to expectations at Real Madrid (Image: Getty)

However, everything fell apart when he moved to Real Madrid in 2019 to replace Ronaldo.

Injuries and poor form limited the Belgian winger to just 54 appearances in four years at the Bernabeu, making him one of the biggest transfer flops of recent times.

He announced his retirement from professional football in October at the age of 32.

Marcus Rashford

Like Dembele and Mbappe, Rashford made waves when he started terrorising defences as a teenager, but in recent years he has struggled with injuries and form.

The England international rediscovered his scoring touch in 2022-23, but a poor 2023-24 campaign saw him miss out on England's Euro 2024 squad.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, La Liga, Champions League, Ballon d'Or, Football, Kylian Mbappe

Alex Brotherton
Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a journalist at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He can often be found watching dreadful non-league football.

X

@alex_brotherton

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    ITV forced to apologise TWICE on behalf of Tyson Fury after what he said live-on-air during Soccer Aid

    Fury was interviewed on-air at Old Trafford - with perhaps an expected result...

    Football
  • 8 hours ago

    Thomas Tuchel told to call up player to his next England squad as fans say already he's outgrown U21 side

    The England boss has been told to promote a talented U21 after his recent performances.

    Football
  • 9 hours ago

    Jack Grealish ‘pranked’ into paying fan’s bill on holiday as TikTok goes viral

    The Man City star has been brutally pranked as his teammates prepare for the Club World Cup

    Football
  • 11 hours ago

    Trent Alexander-Arnold received two gifts from Real Madrid after signing contract with the club

    Trent Alexander-Arnold received two gifts following his transfer to Real Madrid.

    Football
  • Raphinha makes honest Ballon d'Or admission after Cristiano Ronaldo comments on the award
  • Cristiano Ronaldo sold his Ballon d'Or to Israel's richest man for eye-watering amount of money
  • Odds dramatically slashed on shock name winning Ballon d'Or after comment from Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Cristiano Ronaldo didn't hesitate when naming who should win the Ballon d'Or out of Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele